Photovoltaic solar electricity has grown much faster than was expected. Continuation of the historical growth rate would enable solar to generate as much electricity as the entire world uses by ~ 2030. California, in particular, has taken a leading role; 19% of electricity generated in 2018 in the state of ...
In "Let Them Drown," the 2016 London Edward W. Said lecture, Naomi Klein called attention, as Rob Nixon's "Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor" had done, to the nexus of climate change, (colonial) racism and poverty. But she shifted the spotlight onto the oft-overlooked low-lying island nations. Their ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Combatting Coronavirus in Our Community: What Works, Why Now -LIVESTREAM ONLYCombatting the coronavirus pandemic has quickly become a global health priority. Communities across the United States, including here in the Bay Area, are using a range of strategies to mitigate the spread of coronavirus spread. In its first program on the coronavirus crisis, The Commonwealth Club will feature two experts who ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free with registration
Rivers on Fire: Working in Environmental Regulation - Livestream OnlyIn 1969, the Cuyahoga River caught on fire for the thirteenth time. This event catalyzed a decade of environmental legislation in the U.S. including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act. How do water-quality and natural resource agency staff balance development and the ...
Where: TiburonCost: Free
Department of Chemistry ColloquiumImposing and Exploiting Diffusional Constraints to Control Access to Active SitesSpeaker: Samuel Leung, UC BerkeleySecondary Metabolism in ABE-Fermenting ClostridiaBacteria of the genus Clostridium are obligate anaerobic organisms historically valued for bioprocessing of sugars into acetone, butanol, and ethanol (ABE). Recent genomic analyses have revealed both the diversity of ABE producers ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Diverse Perspectives on Conservation Action in CaliforniaFeaturing: Dan Gluesenkamp, Executive Director, California Native Plant SocietyHeath Bartosh, Co-Founder and Senior Botanist, Nomad EcologyBart O'Brien, Director, Regional Parks Botanic GardenHolly Forbes, Curator, UC Botanical GardenFollowing these four presentations a panel discussion will be moderated by Dr. Vanessa Handley, Director of Collections and Research at the UC Botanical Garden.
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free to $100
Tech & the City Series - Artificial You: AI and the Future of your Mind - POSTPONEDFrom driverless cars to neural netting, AI is infiltrating our lives at every level, raising questions of consciousness and selfhood that have resounding implications for the future of humanity. Susan Schneider examines these and other pressing philosophical questions. Interspersing provocative thought experiments - like shopping for an AI mind in ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 General, Free for members
In general relativity, the presence of matter can curve spacetime, and the path of a light ray will be deflected as a result. This process is called gravitational lensing, analogous to the deflection of light by (e.g. glass) lenses in optics.In rare and extreme cases, light can take different paths ...
